MARGAO
Days after expressing concern over the flooding of Fatorda for want of bypass on stilts in neighbouring Benaulim, Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Thursday said he would take up with the highest government authorities to see that the Benaulim stretch of the western bypass is built on stilts.
The Fatorda MLA further pointed out that government needs to introspect whether the ambitious Margao sewerage project has moved forward since 2000 when former Chief Minister Francisco Sardinha had commissioned the 7.5MLD sewage treatment plant or has gone backward in the last 20 years.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a programme at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Thursday, the Fatorda MLA said he is convinced that Fatorda will be inundated and submerged if the bypass passing through Benaulim village is not built on stilts. “Fatorda will be saved if Benaulim is saved. Backwaters from Benaulim will inundate Fatorda if the western bypass is not built on stilts in Benaulim,” he said.
Saying that the bypass passing through Fatorda at Mungul is being built on stilts, Sardesai said Fatorda will have to face the brunt of floods despite the construction of the bypass on stilts at Mungul. “There will be 100 per cent flooding in Fatorda because of the western bypass. Hence, I have decided to take up with the highest authority in an attempt to get the bypass passing through Benaulim on stilts,” he said.
Referring to the adoption of the geo-bag technology to stop sewage effluents from the commercial capital from contaminating the river Sal, Sardesai said the technology needs to be tested before commenting on its efficacy.
As far as Fatorda constituency is concerned, the Fatorda MLA said theirs is almost 100 per cent sewerage connectivity in the constituency, exuding confidence that the issue will be resolved once the ongoing work on the North Main trunk line is completed.
